A home-grown, first-rate idea

August 12, 2008

Two recent news stories about nutritional needs among the poor caught our attention. The first one was set in Los Angeles, where the city council passed an ordinance prohibiting construction of new fast-food restaurants in a 32-square-mile area inhabited by half a million low-income people. Proponents of the attention-grabbing measure see it as an attempt to get residents to make healthier food choices. We'll leave others to debate the merits of the Los Angeles legislation, which will remain in place as the city implements a plan to attract full-service restaurants and grocery stores to the area. We're much more interested in the other news story, one much closer to home, about the very special garden created -- with the help of volunteers and through donations -- by Sara Uzelac. A community health nurse from Walkerton, Uzelac is aware of the nutritional deficit that exists among the needy. The cheaper, filling foods that typically make up their diets are high in fat and calories -- and often lead to such health issues as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure. Struck by a visit to an area homeless shelter, where they were serving bean salad for breakfast, because that was all that was available, Uzelac came up with the idea for a community garden. Located in a vacant lot in South Bend's former industrial area, the garden is accessible to anyone willing to pick the vegetables; Uzelac also harvests produce for soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Word of this bounty has spread through fliers at places such as the St. Joseph County Health Department -- and through word of mouth, we're willing to bet. What's impressive about this idea that took root in an area once dominated by Studebaker factories isn't just that one person saw a need and took action to help fill it. Or that others responded in the manner that they have, treating the garden with respect, helping to tend to it. Or that this modest undertaking has managed to provide the sort of nourishing, healthy foods that so many take for granted but that too many could otherwise never afford. It's that Uzelac's efforts are sure to inspire others who wonder how they can make a difference and who may have doubted that there's much that one person (with the support of others) can do. With proper care and attention, this kind of initiative -- like the cucumbers, beets, cabbage and other vegetables in the little community garden on Franklin Street -- is sure to grow.